“What is a person but a collection of choices?” the Man in Black (Ed Harris) asks rhetorically. “Where do those choices come from? Do I have a choice? Were any of these choices ever truly mine to begin with?”[1]
The Man in Black had cut himself off from the guidebook for the real world, the knowledge of God revealed in the Bible. He did not believe all that [God] had made…was very good.[2] He did not believe what happened to humankind when the first people rejected God’s word for the serpent’s (Genesis 3:1-7 NET).
Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” [Table] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die [Table], for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” [Table]. When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves [Table].
[S]in entered the world through one man, Paul explained, and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned.[3] Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him,[4] You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.[5] Granted, it’s all too easy for Gentiles to believe that Jews are from [their] father the devil. It takes us a little longer to realize that Jews are Everyman in the Gospel narratives.
The Man in Black despite cutting himself off from the knowledge of God revealed in the Bible recognized the effect of being from his father the devil. His wife Juliet (Sela Ward) asked him to tell her one true thing. Thinking she was passed out drunk, he confessed:
No one else sees it: this thing in me. Even I didn’t see it at first. And then one day, it was there: a stain I had never noticed before, tiny fleck of darkness…invisible to everyone. Yet, I could see nothing else, ‘til finally I understood that the darkness wasn’t some mark from something I’d done, or some regrettable decision I’d made. I was shedding my skin. The darkness was what was underneath. It was mine all along. And I decided how much of it I let into the world. I tried to do right. I was faithful, generous…kind, at least in this world. That has to count for something, right?[6]
The Man in Black didn’t believe that [w]e are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in [God’s] sight.[7] The Man in Black didn’t believe God. And so a confession that may seem like the prelude to receiving God’s salvation through Jesus Christ turns hollow and bitter as he fulfills the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 64:6b, 7 NET):
We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind. No one invokes your name, or makes an effort to take hold of you. For you have rejected us and handed us over to our own sins [Table].
The Man in Black’s confession to his wife continued:
I built a wall and tried to protect you and Emily. But you saw right through it, didn’t you? You’re the only one. And for that I am truly sorry. Because…everything you feel is true. I don’t belong to you or this world. I belong to another world. I always have.[8]
He refers here to Westworld. What follows is a spoiler for the first season. The “gee whiz” factor of this particular plot twist is far outweighed in my opinion by the benefit of having a temporal landmark to recognize the first season’s double helix story arc: The Man in Black (Ed Harris) is William (Jimmi Simpson) older.
He explains to Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood):
Black William: Remember, you’re the one who said this is the only world that matters, and you were right. So, I took your advice and I bought this world.
Dolores: This world doesn’t belong to you.
Black William: Oh, but it does by a majority share. And business is booming. And you wanna know why? Because this place feels more real than the real world.[9]
I don’t mean to imply that a fictional character was influenced by the devil. It was the true-to-life crafting of this character (among others) as written and acted that caught my attention in the first place, how well his words and actions displayed the same inner turmoil revealed in the Bible.
“I’m a god,” Black William (Ed Harris) tells Teddy (James Marsden), “titan of industry, philanthropist, family man, married to a beautiful woman, father to a beautiful daughter. I’m the good guy…”
Teddy: Did you hurt them, too?
Black William: Never. They never saw anything like the man I am in here. But she knew anyway. She said if I stacked up all my good deeds, it was just an elegant wall I built to hide what’s inside from everyone, and from myself.[10]
William oversaw the implementation of a program to use the technology of Westworld to create a sinister imitation of eternal life for his dead Father-in-law Jim (Peter Mullan), a virtual immortality that leaves the sin nature “alive” and fully functioning, cynically called “fidelity.” But the android facsimiles of Jim all went insane eventually. Black William explains to his latest facsimile:
Another year or two, they might crack it, get a version of you that’s viable long-term. But the thing is, we’re not so sure anymore. I’m beginning to think that this whole enterprise was a mistake. People aren’t meant to live forever….World is better off without you, Jim. Possibly without me….Now, took me a long time to learn this, but some men are better off dead.[11]
It struck me how close and how far William was from the truth. For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God, Paul wrote to believing Galatians. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.[12]
Paul didn’t think of this blessing as something exclusively for him alone. He explained in some detail how all men and women are “better off dead” to sin (Romans 6:1-7 NET):
What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? [Table] Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.
For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)
None of this meant anything to Black William. He was obsessed with his own creation. Though he claims that Westworld “feels more real than the real world,” he also acknowledges to Dolores that “it isn’t because you can’t really fight back and the guests can’t really lose, which means all this is a lie. But we can make it true. Don’t you want that, Dolores, one true thing?”[13]
The devil isn’t the only one impacting people’s choices in the real world. And perhaps I should make it explicit that I mean the real world, not the fictional “real world” of Westworld (John 3:16-18 NET).
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him [Table]. The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
True to form I misunderstood Jesus’ words translated into English. I thought the way God loved the world was to send his one and only Son to be the ultimate Shibboleth of eternal consequence (Judges 12:5, 6 NET):
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him,[14] sounded like fairly typical CYA language. God washed his hands, as it were, and said, “I am innocent of [your] blood. You take care of it yourselves!”[15] Clearly, I did not believe that God is holy.
My Pastor described the holiness of God in a sermon:[16]
Well, holiness is a very complex idea within Scripture, a very rich idea within Scripture. It describes the perfection of moral purity. It describes the perfection of goodness. It also describes the magnificent otherness of God: That He is not like us, that his nature, his character is greater, bigger, different than anything else within creation. That He is separate from creation, over creation, more significant, more important, better than creation. All these ideas are consumed within this idea of God’s holiness.
My diminished view of God went hand in hand with my diminished view of his salvation: that He had very little to do with salvation, practically speaking. Salvation had everything to do with the individual who believed, or claimed to believe. But Jesus’ saying—No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws (ἑλκύσῃ, a form of ἑλκύω) him[17] called my do-it-yourself salvation into serious question.
The Greek words translated to condemn and should be saved in John 3:17 above were κρίνῃ and σωθῇ respectively. Both are verbs in the subjunctive mood: “The subjunctive mood indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances.” So, technically, κρίνῃ should have been translated “that he should condemn” or judge rather than as an infinitive to condemn. But the definition of the subjunctive mood continues:
However if the subjunctive mood is used in a purpose or result clause, then the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him, is quite clearly both the purpose and the result of, For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. In other words, that God will not condemn the world but save the world is predicated upon the love of God and the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. It is about as certain as anything can be expressed in Koine Greek.
Jesus said: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth (he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die[18]), will draw (ἑλκύσω, another form of ἑλκύω) all people to myself.[19] This powerful drawing, pulling, dragging is a promise made by the Son of God. It, too, is about as certain as anything can be expressed in Koine Greek. And it impacts our choices in the real world.
The question for any individual doesn’t boil down to some internal inventory: what do I believe? can I believe? Count on God to supply the requisite faith. The question becomes: will I quit listening to the devil? Am I done yet hurting [myself] by kicking against the goads?[20]
Tables comparing Genesis 3:2; 3:3; 3:6; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 12:5 and 12:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Genesis 3:2; 3:3; 3:6; Isaiah 64:6; Judges 12:5 and 12:6 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.
| Genesis 3:2 (KJV) | ||
| And the woman said unto the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; | And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: | The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; |
| καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει ἀπὸ καρποῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγόμεθα | καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ὄφει· ἀπὸ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου φαγούμεθα, |
| And the woman said to the snake, “We shall eat of the fruit of the tree of the orchard, | And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, |
| Genesis 3:3 (KJV) | ||
| but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ | But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. | but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” |
| ἀπὸ δὲ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου εἶπεν ὁ θεός οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε | ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ καρποῦ τοῦ ξύλου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου, εἶπεν ὁ Θεός, οὐ φάγεσθε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, οὐ δὲ μὴ ἅψησθε αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνητε |
| but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God said, ‘You shall not eat of it nor shall you even touch it, lest you die.’” | but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. |
| Genesis 3:6 (KJV) | ||
| And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. | And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. | When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. |
| καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῗς ὀφθαλμοῗς ἰδεῗν καὶ ὡραῗόν ἐστιν τοῦ κατανοῆσαι καὶ λαβοῦσα τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγεν καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μετ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ ἔφαγον | καὶ εἶδεν ἡ γυνή, ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ξύλον εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ὅτι ἀρεστὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν καὶ ὡραῖόν ἐστι τοῦ κατανοῆσαι, καὶ λαβοῦσα ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγε· καὶ ἔδωκε καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς μετ᾿ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔφαγον |
| And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate. | And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate. |
| Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) | ||
| But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. | But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. | We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind. |
| καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρτοι πάντες ἡμεῗς ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν καὶ ἐξερρύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς | καὶ ἐγενήθημεν ὡς ἀκάθαρτοι πάντες ἡμεῖς, ὡς ῥάκος ἀποκαθημένης πᾶσα ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἡμῶν· καὶ ἐξερρύημεν ὡς φύλλα διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν, οὕτως ἄνεμος οἴσει ἡμᾶς |
| And we have all become like unclean people; all our righteousness is like the rag of a woman who sits apart. And we have fallen off like leaves because of our acts of lawlessness; thus the wind will take us away. | and we are all become as unclean, and all our righteousness as a filthy rag: and we have fallen as leaves because of our iniquities; thus the wind shall carry us [away]. |
| Judges 12:5 (KJV) | ||
| And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; | And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; | The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Ephraim. Whenever an Ephraimite fugitive said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead asked him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,” |
| καὶ προκατελάβοντο ἄνδρες Γαλααδ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ Ιορδάνου τοῦ Εφραιμ καὶ ἐγενήθη ὅτι εἶπαν οἱ διασεσῳσμένοι τοῦ Εφραιμ διαβῶμεν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῗς οἱ ἄνδρες Γαλααδ μὴ ὑμεῗς ἐκ τοῦ Εφραιμ καὶ εἶπαν οὔκ ἐσμεν | καὶ προκατελάβετο Γαλαὰδ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου τοῦ ᾿Εφραίμ, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς οἱ διασωζόμενοι ᾿Εφραίμ· διαβῶμεν, καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἄνδρες Γαλαάδ· μὴ ᾿Εφραθίτης εἶ; καὶ εἶπεν· οὔ |
| And the men of Galaad quickly seized the fords of the Jordan of Ephraim. And it came about that the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let us pass over,” and the men of Galaad said to them, “Are you not from Ephraim?” And they said, “We are not.” | And Galaad took the fords of Jordan before Ephraim; and they that escaped of Ephraim said to them, Let us go over: and the men of Galaad said, Art thou an Ephrathite? and he said, No. |
| Judges 12:6 (KJV) | ||
| Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. | Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. | then they said to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth!’” If he said, “Sibboleth” (and could not pronounce the word correctly), they grabbed him and executed him right there at the fords of the Jordan. On that day 42,000 Ephraimites fell dead. |
| καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῗς εἴπατε δὴ σύνθημα καὶ οὐ κατηύθυναν τοῦ λαλῆσαι οὕτως καὶ ἐπελάβοντο αὐτῶν καὶ ἔσφαξαν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐξ Εφραιμ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ δύο τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδες | καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· εἶπον δὴ Στάχυς· καὶ οὐ κατεύθυνε τοῦ λαλῆσαι οὕτως. καὶ ἐπελάβοντο αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔθυσαν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὰς διαβάσεις τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου, καὶ ἔπεσαν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ἀπὸ ᾿Εφραὶμ δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδες |
| And they said to them, “Then say: Password,” and they did not keep straight so as to say it like that. And they seized them and slew them at the fords of the Jordan. And forty-two thousand of Ephraim fell at that time. | Then they said to him, Say now Stachys; and he did not rightly pronounce it so: and they took him, and slew him at the fords of Jordan; and there fell at that time of Ephraim two and forty thousand. |
[1] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”
[2] Genesis 1:31a (NET) Table
[5] John 8:44a (NET) Table
[6] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”
[8] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 9, “Vanishing Point”
[9] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Bicameral Mind”
[10] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 8, “Trace Decay”
[11] Westworld, Season 2, Episode 4, “The Riddle of the Sphinx”
[13] Westworld, Season 1, Episode 10, “The Bicameral Mind”
[15] Matthew 27:24b (NET) Table
[16] Adam Sanftner, Covenant Bible Church, Farmington MO 63640, August 15, 2021
[17] John 6:44a (NET) Table
[20] Acts 26:14 (NET) Table